Instructions

Step 1: Inspect your Mushroom Grow Kit

• Examine your bag to make sure it is fully myceliated (white all over). If so, then it is ready to start fruiting! However, if you can see areas of brown sawdust that are not myceliated then place your kit in a dark location (~18-24 C), and check it every day until it is all white.

• King Oysters like it cool and humid so choose a location that ranges between ~15-18 C, is bright but not in direct sunlight and is the most humid part of your house.

• Keep the bag closed and watch for the development of tiny baby mushrooms (primordial/pins).
• Once ‘pinning’ begins, start cutting around the bag 1-2 inches above the baby mushrooms and remove the top part of the bag.
• Next, make a ‘Humidity Tent’ to go over your Grow Kit to help create a humid environment for your mushrooms to grow. Get a clear plastic bag (so light can come through) that is large enough to loosely cover the grow kit with enough room for the mushrooms to grow. Cut approximately 10-1.5cm holes to allow for air exchange (CO₂ out O₂ in) and place it over your grow it.

• Lift up & replace the ‘Humidity Tent’ 2 to 5 times a day to spray the inside of the tent with water and allow for fresh air in.
• If your mushrooms start to grow long and stringy, it is usually a sign that there is too much C0₂ so ventilate the mushrooms more often and/or increase the number or size of holes in the bag. If your mushrooms are drying out, increase the humidity by spritzing more often.

• King Oyster mushrooms can grow quickly and be ready to harvest between 4 to 7 days after pinning.
• Harvest your mushrooms before the caps flatten out and become concave by cutting each mushroom at the base with a knife.
• It is best to cook your mushrooms when they are fresh but they can be stored in the fridge for about a week in a paper bag (not plastic!)
• The stems of king oysters is what they are prized for as they are thick and meaty texture but the caps are equally as good. Many people use them to replace Portobello mushrooms in recipes or even grill them like scallops or meat.

• Once you are done fruiting your kit, break up the sawdust/mycelium and put it in your home or city compost or use as a soil amendment in your garden bed.

• Mushrooms produce airborne spores as they grow. When released from the gills they produce a dusty surface on your grow kit and surrounding area. To reduce exposure fruit your kit in a well ventilated area, use a ‘Humidity Tent’ and harvest mushrooms while they are still young.
• Always cook mushrooms before consuming.